July 21 | Candle Light Vigil for Taya Ashton in River Terrace Park
“Transgender woman Taya Ashton was found shot to death Saturday in her apartment in Suitland, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C., making her the 31st trans, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming person known to have died by violence in the U.S. this year.
Prince George’s County police found Ashton shortly before 10 p.m., the Washington Blade reports. She had suffered a single gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene. She was 20 years old.
“Based on the preliminary investigation, at this time, detectives do not believe this was a random crime,” said a statement from the police. There is no evidence yet that the crime was motivated by Ashton’s gender identity, “but as in all cases, we explore all possibilities,” the statement continued.
Stuart Anderson, Ashton’s grandfather, told the Blade there was no sign of forced entry to her apartment, so the attacker may have been someone she knew. It did look like there was a struggle between her and the assailant, he added. He noted that her family members were accepting of her gender identity.”
